Meet the Team – Kelly Richards, the Service Development Guru

March 7, 2017

In this issue of our Franchise Blog, we present to you somebody, that has been part of our team for quite some time – Kelly Richards. She plays important role in the service development and recruiting processes. She communicates directly with franchisees and contractors. So if you consider working with us, this interview may come very helpful.

Interviewer: Hello, Kelly, can you introduce yourself? What do you do for a living?

Kelly: Hi, I am Kelly Richards. I am currently part of the Business Development Team in our company- Fantastic Services Australia. I am also helping the onboarding department and I am recruiting new franchisees – I am responsible for finding new candidates; initial interview over the phone; organising face to face meeting in the office; follow up calls and reaching final agreement; gathering all documents needed to join our Fantastic family; preparing agreements and coordinating everything related to documents, team set up and initial training of the team and start on the road.

I have been working with the company for 5 years now. Previous to that I was working in the Sales Department for 3.5 years and was responsible for the development of some of the services we offer – Oven & BBQ cleaning; Hard floor cleaning – Tile and Grout Cleaning, Pressure Cleaning, Stripping and Sealing; Window Cleaning.

What do you love most about your work?

One of the things I really like about my work is communicating with our franchisees on a daily basis. That gives me information about the services and what we could improve in terms of service specifics, packages, processes, procedures, etc.

I also like research and making things work better. No matter whether it is related to a completely new service or improving and developing an existing one. This is a challenge that makes me look for a different point of view and seeing things from various perspectives so that we could come up with the best solution for everyone involved in the process – our clients, our franchisees, our company and business model.

What is the biggest challenge in your work?

I like talking to our franchisees as this is a way to learn new things. Saying that I prefer to speak to people that find time to share their feedback or opinion on certain things because this is how I could actually help them. People have to talk and share their experience as this is the way to avoid mistakes and to move on. I prefer to find a solution for an issue based on the feedback of our franchisees rather than taking decisions based on figures only.

What kind of people is the most pleasant to work with? Why?

I prefer to work with positive people that are looking for the better, that are trying to learn new things all the time, that are responsible and not afraid to take risks.

I love to communicate to our franchisees because this is a way to learn new things. It is important to listen to them and hear their feedback because they are the face of our company and after all this is how I could actually help them. People have to talk and share their experience as this is the way to avoid mistakes and to move on. I prefer to find a solution for an issue based on the feedback from our partners rather than taking decisions based on figures and statistics only.

What’s the thing, that keeps you moving on?

Helping people is the thing that is really motivating me – I mean franchisees, colleagues, friends and family. Finding and meeting one’s needs, finding a solution has always been a pleasure for me.

People have to learn to give no matter if they would get something in return.

What’s the most common mistake for beginner franchisees and employees?

Even if they have had experience in cleaning, for example, they underestimate the importance of customer service and very often new franchisees lack business management experience. They have to understand that the cleaning franchise (for example) is their own business and they have to work towards providing best quality and excellent customer experience and on a daily basis they need to work towards up-selling additional services, spreading marketing materials, getting more positive online reviews, etc., so that they could increase their turnover and expand, reach more potential customers.

How do you know somebody is suitable for the position?

We have developed a matrix so that we could evaluate if the potential franchisee would be suitable for the position. We take into account different factors and skills but the experience I have had so far is also important and helping me in taking the right decision.

What advice would you give to the future franchisees and employees?

The most important thing is to like whatever you do, to believe in the idea and to work towards becoming better and to improve your skills and knowledge all the time. Working without enthusiasm is not an option and I know for myself that “When there is a will, there is a way” 🙂